A Latin Grammar for Schools and Colleges

by George Martin Lane

[437]. The genitive sometimes ends (1.) in -āī in poetry: as, aulāī, of the hall; pīctāī, embroidered; (2.) in -ās: as, molās, of a mill. This genitive is rare, but was always kept up in the word familiās with pater or māter, sometimes with fīlius or fīlia: pater familiās, the goodman, māter familiās, the housewife. But pater familiae, or in the plural patrēs familiārum, is equally common.

[438]. Town names and a few appellatives have a locative case in -ae: as, Rōmae, at Rome, in Rome; mīlitiae, in war, in the field, in the army.

PLURAL CASES.

[439]. Compounds ending with -cola, inhabiting, and -gena, born, and patronymics, sometimes have the genitive plural in -ū̆m in poetry: as, caelicolū̆m, of occupants of heaven; Graiugenū̆m, of Greek-born men; Aeneadū̆m, of Aeneas’s sons; also names of peoples: as, Lapithū̆m, of the Lapithae. With these last -ū̆m occurs even in prose: as, Crotōniātū̆m, of the Crotona people. Others in -ŭm are drachmŭm, amphorū̆m.

[440]. In the dative and ablative plural, -eis sometimes occurs ([443]): as, tueis ingrātieis, against your will (Plaut.). Nouns in -ia have rarely a single ī: as, pecūnīs, by moneys (Cic.); taenīs, with fillets (Verg.); nōnīs Iūnīs, on the fifth of June (Cic.). See [24].

[441]. In the dative and ablative plural, words in -āia, or plural -āiae, have -āīs, and those in -ēia have -ēīs ([127, 7]): as KAL. MAIS, on the calends of May (inscr.); Bāīs, at Bajae (Hor.); plēbēīs, plebeian.

[442]. The dative and ablative plural sometimes end in -ābus, particularly in deābus, goddesses, and fīliābus, daughters, to distinguish them from deīs, gods, and fīliīs, sons. ambae, both, and duae, two, regularly have ambābus and duābus.

[443]. Other case forms are found in inscriptions, as follows:

G. -ai, which may be monosyllabic or disyllabic in pronunciation: PVLCHRAI; LAVERNAI; -āēs, after 80 B.C., chiefly in proper names, mostly Greek: HERAES; rarely in appellatives: DOMINAES; -ēs: MINERVES; -ā, VESTA; COIRA, i.e. Cūrae. D. -ai, in all periods ([96]): FILIAI; -ā: FORTVNA; -ē ([96]): FORTVNE. Ac. -a ([61]): TAVRASIA; MAGNA SAPIENTIA. Ab. -ād ([426]): PRAIDAD. Loc. -ai: ROMAI. Plural: N. -ai ([96]): TABELAI DATAI; -ā, rare: MATRONA; -ē, rare and provincial ([96]): MVSTE, i.e. mystae. D. and Ab. -eis, very often ([98]): SCRIBEIS; D. -ās, once: DEVAS CORNISCAS, i.e. dīvīs Cornīscīs. Ab. -ēs once ([98]): NVGES, i.e. nūgīs.

GREEK NOUNS.